This was it.

This would finish Imminent.

With their heart racing, Rayne crossed her fingers and said a silent prayer to Elden, ‘Please, let this work.’

A tremor passed through the Valkyrie, who dropped her outreaching hand. With a nod in Rayne’s direction, she said, “Kill her, and I’ll come with you.”

Rayne recoiled in surprise and noted Nox’s shudder in disgust. But he was quick to conceal it, saying, “If we kill her, Xelan will never let us rehabilitate.”

Logical.

Surely Celindria could see the benefits of this surrender.

A tense silence stretched between them. Several hundred Celindria agents stared at the only man in the room she wanted. Rayne held her breath, hoping Celindria’s desire for Nox was enough to tilt the scales in their favor.

Lucy looked expectant, while Matt appeared neutral either way. Puk was memorizing the moment, fully appreciating its significance. Yito’s expression was simply unnerved. Bethany’s eyes were closed in concentration.

Nox took an entreating step toward the Valkyrie and cradled her cheek in his powerful hand. He said, “Please, come with me, and we can work together to make this right.”

Rayne knew this was the right way. Celindria, in her absolution, could make greatness through a future of working with the Shadow—

Every agent crumpled to their knees and fell flat on their faces.

Behind Rayne, Lucy cried, “Bethany!”

Kyle’s sister had collapsed, and her team raced to check on her.

Crouched beside her, Matt said, “Get back. Get back. Give her some air. Bethany, are you all right?”

Between Puk and Yito, Rayne saw blood dripping from Bethany’s eyes and nose. Underneath the mess was a sweet smile.

Nox came to Rayne’s side, and she peered up at him to find his eyes hollowed out and his handsome face in a melancholic frown. Had he meant what he’d offered to Celindria? Would he volunteer to rehabilitate with her? For the first time, Rayne wondered about Nox’s feelings for Celindria.

The Eternal Bind.

Bethany’s voice was breathy as she said, “My memories—your memories—are her memories now.”

Lucy glanced up at Matt, who shrugged.

Catching on, Rayne ran to the nearest agent—the Valkyrie—and checked her vitals. “They’re alive. I don’t know if they’re still under her control.”

“We’ll have Pehton and Bones detain them until we can prove otherwise.” Matt stood and walked over to Rayne. “It’s about time for them to make their way down here, War King. What do you want me to say?”

Rayne gazed over at Nox. He was checking the fallen agents with his back to her. She said, “Buy me a few days, and then we’ll come clean. Can you do that for me?” The last she ground through her teeth while returning Night Killer to her nacre.

“Roger that.” Matt gestured at the rest of his team. “You heard her, folks. No ratting out to the elites.”

Lucy helped Bethany stand and saluted. “Aye, aye.”

Puk shot Rayne a reassuring smile, saying, “As long as I get to be in the movie, I don’t care when you come out.”

“Yeah, fine.” Yito seemed preoccupied with a contemplative frown. “Hey… anybody notice—”

“They’re mostly drones,” Nox finished.

Everyone looked at Puk. Sheepishly, he held up his hands in surrender. “It’s cool. I guess Celindria claimed the hives.”

Matt pressed, “Mind telling us why you aren’t affected, then?”

Puk’s laugh was incredulous. “Oh, no drone who worked for Razor would be affected. He lobotomized our hive receivers. It was standard operating procedure to work for him.”

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Rayne frowned. “Wouldn’t that separate you from your people?”

Puk gave a dismissive wave, only his voice sounded sad. “Sure, you get lonely without your family in your head, but we adapted and survived. Not to mention, no Celindria control. Bonus.” Puk gave two thumbs up.

Nox ordered like a King, “Check with your other contacts who worked with Razor and see if they’re affected. Tip them off to Celindria’s scheme.”

Puk said, “Count on it, your former majesty. And if I might say?” Nox nodded for Puk to go on. His excited grin suited his personality. “I can’t wait until you two start coming around for the family gatherings.”

Yito groaned. “What a mess…”

Matt and Lucy beamed, but Bethany, with blood smeared across her face, smirked.

“Ginger. Morning Star. Where are you?” Bones came over the palm device.

Pehton’s voice followed. “Are there any hostiles with you?”

On cue, Elden opened a conduit back to the treeloft. Nox gestured at it. “There’s our ride.”

Rayne reached over to hug Matt and then Lucy. “Thank you, both.”

“We’ll see you soon,” Lucy said on a squeeze.

Debris kicked up nearby, and that was Rayne and Nox’s signal to exit. They rushed through the conduit, which closed instantly behind them. They arrived outside the treeloft once again.

Nox stared up at the canopy, lit only by the internal glow of the trees. He was standing right next to Rayne but felt so far out of reach. She said, “Talk to me.”

“Yes. We need to talk. Can you please let us in first? I need to sit down.”

Rayne opened the DNA seal and let him in first. Nox sat on the long end of the couch and pulled his boots off, sighing once his feet were free. Something Rayne totally understood as she absorbed her boots. The enormous Icarus stared at the floor, elbows resting on his knees, hands hanging between his legs.

Exhausted.

Rayne’s concerns metastasized into insecurities. Was this a relationship talk? How did Celindria play into it? And where would it end?

“No. None of that, Rayne.” It was like Nox could read her mind. He reached his hands out to her, saying, “C’mere.”

She crossed the quaint living space and stood before him. Nox reached up to cup her face, and Rayne planted her knees on either side of him, sinking into his lap. She felt raw and exposed, on the verge of tears, and she didn’t know why.

“Shh… I assure you, we are not thinking the same things.” Nox kissed her, a soft peck, all too briefly. He said, “But it is time to talk of less pleasant things than our favorite ice cream and which position you enjoy most.” He smirked at the last.

Rayne blushed, but mustered a timid smile. “Go on.”

Nox brushed one hand through her hair, and she closed her eyes to soak in the gentleness. But when he spoke, his voice held so much sorrow, they snapped open again. “We need to discuss what will happen once the other Shadow know we’re alive—I’m alive. Specifically, our Co-Emperors.”

At the dismay flooding into her ever-spiraling storm of emotions, Rayne clasped both of Nox’s hands against her face. “No. It’s not time—”

“Yes, Rayne. It is. Today, marked it. We will be discovered, and you will return to the people who love you.” Nox swallowed. “But who will not accept me.”

The first hot tears squeezed through Rayne’s lashes. She tried, but she couldn’t help it. “Is that why you offered to turn yourself in with Celindria? Because you think Xelan and Tameka will arrest you?”

Nox brushed a tear aside, his eyes filled with love but also with resignation. It thickened his voice as he said, “Yes. It’s the least they’ll do to me. I should be executed for my crimes against Earth, against Xelan, and against you.”

Rayne shook her head. “No. I will not let them use me to punish you. And what about our rehabilitation?” There was something she could cling to. “We spent millions of years together providing you an arena for redemption, and it worked. Without the constant bombardment of Imminent’s pervasive evil, you became a better Icarus. You’re my Icarus.”

Their kiss was searing, more from the desperation knowing these days were numbered than passion alone. When it broke, so did Rayne’s heart.

“Three years in your psyche was no punishment. It was tidal wave after wave of revelation.” At her hiccuping sob, Nox added, “But we can try to argue between your execution of me and your inspired approach to reform that I am indeed redeemed. We can try.”

The forced hope in Nox’s words hurt the conviction Rayne felt for their case. She believed it when she said, “I will make sure of it.”

At least Nox’s smile said he believed in her, too. He wiped the remnants of tears from her face, brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, and said, “Now tell me how you plan to inform the Shadow of everything.”

“Korac.”

Nox quirked a brow and tilted his head, expecting more of an explanation.

Rayne slid her hands up his chest, around his shoulders, and locked them behind his neck, getting more comfortable with the position. All the while, she said, “We’ve left a trail of breadcrumbs big enough for a Hellkite to follow, and Korac is our best mediator between you and the rest of the Shadow.”

There was no hiding Nox’s impression of her strategy. His eyes glittered with admiration, as he nodded sagely. “Logical.”

“All this banks on how much Korac cares for you as we’ve gleaned from his Verse. The look on his face before Enki exploded... When we told him about the nacre chamber…” Rayne was staring off, recalling it. She shook herself back to the present and let Nox see the confidence in her smile. “This will work.”

Pride in Rayne crooked his smirk until Nox raked his gaze over her bare shoulders and the tops of her thighs exposed by the riding up of her dress. Something darker tilted his lips. It roughened his voice as he asked, “Until then, how do you feel about finishing what we started at Night Rayne’s Tomb?”

Rayne rolled her hips against him and gasped, “Please.”

Nox lifted her thigh with one hand and gripped her hair in the other, kissing her roughly, deep into Rayne’s purrs—

A knock sounded from the door.

They separated, flushed and confused in a lusty haze. Heart pounding, Rayne stood and pulled down her skirt to a decent length. Nox stood and slipped his button-less shirt back on, peering at her.

This was it.

Only one couple could track them down and travel here.

Rayne reached out a hand to Nox. He took it, laced his fingers in hers, and nodded on her mark. Facing an uncertain future, they answered the door.

Together.